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A Man Called White: The Autobiography of Walter White
First published in 1948, A Man Called White is the autobiography of the famous civil rights activist Walter White during his first thirty years of service to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. White joined the NAACP in 1918 and served as its executive secretary from 1931 until his death in 1955. His recollections tell not only of his personal life, but amount to an insider's history of the association's first decades.Although an African American, White was fair-skinned, blond-haired, and blue-eyed. His ability to pass as a white man allowed him--at great personal risk--to gather important information regarding lynchings, disfranchisement, and discrimination. Much of A Man Called White recounts his infiltration of the country's white-racist power structure and the numerous legal battles fought by the NAACP that were aided by his daring efforts.
Penetrating and detailed, this autobiography provides an important account of crucial events in the development of race relations before 1950--from the trial of the "Scottsboro Boys" to an investigation of the treatment of African American servicemen in World War II, from the struggle against the all-white primaries in the South to court decisions--at all levels--on equal education.
Penetrating and detailed, this autobiography provides an important account of crucial events in the development of race relations before 1950--from the trial of the "Scottsboro Boys" to an investigation of the treatment of African American servicemen in World War II, from the struggle against the all-white primaries in the South to court decisions--at all levels--on equal education.
392 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1948
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About the author
Walter Francis White
23 books12 followersHe was an African American journalist, novelist, and essayist who became a spokesman for his community in the United States for almost a quarter of a century. He graduated from Atlanta University in 1916 (now Clark Atlanta University). In 1918 he joined the small national staff of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in New York at the invitation of James Weldon Johnson, acting as Johnson's assistant national secretary. White later succeeded Johnson as the head of the NAACP, serving from 1931 to 1955.
White oversaw the plans and organizational structure of the fight against public segregation. Under his leadership, the NAACP set up the Legal Defense Fund, which raised numerous legal challenges to segregation and disfranchisement, and achieved many successes. Among these was the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, which determined that segregated education was inherently unequal. He was the virtual author of President Truman's presidential order desegregating the armed forces after the Second World War. White also quintupled NAACP membership to nearly 500,000.[1]
White was the fourth of seven children born in Atlanta to George W. White and Madeline Harrison. George had graduated from Atlanta University and was a postal worker. Madeline had graduated from Clark University and became a teacher. They belonged to the influential First Congregational Church, founded by freedmen and the American Missionary Association after the Civil War. They were among the new middle class and ensured that Walter and all their children got an education. After graduating in 1916 from Atlanta University, a historically black college, White's first job was with the Standard Life Insurance Company, one of the new and most successful businesses started by African Americans. He also worked to organize an NAACP chapter in Atlanta. He and other leaders were successful in getting the Atlanta School Board to support improving education for black children. At the invitation of James Weldon Johnson, White moved to New York and in 1918 started working with at the national headquarters of the NAACP.
He married Gladys Powell in 1922, divorcing her in 1949. They had two children, actress Jane White and Walter Carl Darrow White. White then married a white magazine editor, Poppy Cannon, with whom he lived until his death in 1955.
White had the appearance of a white man, a point he emphasized in his autobiography A Man Called White (p. 3): "I am a Negro. My skin is white, my eyes are blue, my hair is blond. The traits of my race are nowhere visible upon me." Five of his great-great-great-grandparents were black and the other 27 were white. All of his family was light-skinned, and his mother was also blue-eyed and blonde.[2] Her maternal grandparents were Dilsia, a slave, and William Henry Harrison, the future President. Her mother Marie Harrison was one of Dilsia's daughters and her father Augustus Ware was also white.[3]
Sinclair Lewis' 1947 novel, Kingsblood Royal, about a man who appears to be white but learns late in life that he is black, has characters based in part on White and his professional circles. In fact, Lewis consulted White on the novel. While some white critics found the novel contrived, the prominent African-American magazine Ebony named it the best novel of the year.[4]
White used his appearance to increase his effectiveness in conducting investigations of lynchings and race riots. He could "pass" and talk to whites, but also manage to identify himself as black and talk to the African-American community. Such work was dangerous, but he investigated 41 lynchings and eight race riots while working with the NAACP.
White oversaw the plans and organizational structure of the fight against public segregation. Under his leadership, the NAACP set up the Legal Defense Fund, which raised numerous legal challenges to segregation and disfranchisement, and achieved many successes. Among these was the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, which determined that segregated education was inherently unequal. He was the virtual author of President Truman's presidential order desegregating the armed forces after the Second World War. White also quintupled NAACP membership to nearly 500,000.[1]
White was the fourth of seven children born in Atlanta to George W. White and Madeline Harrison. George had graduated from Atlanta University and was a postal worker. Madeline had graduated from Clark University and became a teacher. They belonged to the influential First Congregational Church, founded by freedmen and the American Missionary Association after the Civil War. They were among the new middle class and ensured that Walter and all their children got an education. After graduating in 1916 from Atlanta University, a historically black college, White's first job was with the Standard Life Insurance Company, one of the new and most successful businesses started by African Americans. He also worked to organize an NAACP chapter in Atlanta. He and other leaders were successful in getting the Atlanta School Board to support improving education for black children. At the invitation of James Weldon Johnson, White moved to New York and in 1918 started working with at the national headquarters of the NAACP.
He married Gladys Powell in 1922, divorcing her in 1949. They had two children, actress Jane White and Walter Carl Darrow White. White then married a white magazine editor, Poppy Cannon, with whom he lived until his death in 1955.
White had the appearance of a white man, a point he emphasized in his autobiography A Man Called White (p. 3): "I am a Negro. My skin is white, my eyes are blue, my hair is blond. The traits of my race are nowhere visible upon me." Five of his great-great-great-grandparents were black and the other 27 were white. All of his family was light-skinned, and his mother was also blue-eyed and blonde.[2] Her maternal grandparents were Dilsia, a slave, and William Henry Harrison, the future President. Her mother Marie Harrison was one of Dilsia's daughters and her father Augustus Ware was also white.[3]
Sinclair Lewis' 1947 novel, Kingsblood Royal, about a man who appears to be white but learns late in life that he is black, has characters based in part on White and his professional circles. In fact, Lewis consulted White on the novel. While some white critics found the novel contrived, the prominent African-American magazine Ebony named it the best novel of the year.[4]
White used his appearance to increase his effectiveness in conducting investigations of lynchings and race riots. He could "pass" and talk to whites, but also manage to identify himself as black and talk to the African-American community. Such work was dangerous, but he investigated 41 lynchings and eight race riots while working with the NAACP.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 2, 2015
Several months ago information about an NAACP leader in our area who was "passing" as black came out, and as I was reading about her I came across a mention of this man, Walter White. The title is a play on his name, and the fact that he was so light-skinned that he sometimes "passed" as white in the south, often in conjunction with his work for the NAACP to investigate lynchings.
His work was much more than the lynching investigations, but it is often what he is remembered for now (I'm currently reading his book where he presents these findings, entitled, "The Rope and the Faggot"). He and his colleagues were groundbreakers for future Civil Rights leaders, as well as women who were trying to get equal pay for equal work. The book ends on a particularly bright note, with encouragement for the future (it was written in 1948), which was good b/c I pretty much cried through every chapter.
One of my favorite stories was about a man, much too old to have children in the public school system anymore, who paid 30 years of back poll-taxes (which he could ill-afford and is illegal now) in order to register to vote that the city of Atlanta provide a black HS for their black population. One HS in a population of 75,000 black people. I certainly don't have the answers to today's racial issues or the "failing public school" system but it's good for me to read how hard people fought for what we now consider basic rights.
His work was much more than the lynching investigations, but it is often what he is remembered for now (I'm currently reading his book where he presents these findings, entitled, "The Rope and the Faggot"). He and his colleagues were groundbreakers for future Civil Rights leaders, as well as women who were trying to get equal pay for equal work. The book ends on a particularly bright note, with encouragement for the future (it was written in 1948), which was good b/c I pretty much cried through every chapter.
One of my favorite stories was about a man, much too old to have children in the public school system anymore, who paid 30 years of back poll-taxes (which he could ill-afford and is illegal now) in order to register to vote that the city of Atlanta provide a black HS for their black population. One HS in a population of 75,000 black people. I certainly don't have the answers to today's racial issues or the "failing public school" system but it's good for me to read how hard people fought for what we now consider basic rights.
March 23, 2022
Man, I loved reading this. Now, I'm on the hunt for the newly published biography of Walter White. It's White Lies: The Double Life of Walter F. White and America’s Darkest Secret, by A. J. Baime (Mariner, 2022).
I first heard about the first chapters of this memoir fifteen years ago, on the anniversary of the 1906 Atlanta riots, which young White witnessed personally. He grew up not far from where my maternal grandfather was born; I wish he was alive to discuss this with me.
White gets around, before and during his tenure with the NAACP. There is so much here.
Recently, I read the great two-volume graphic novel series Incognegro, a historical fiction seemingly drawing from the experiences White narrates in the first part of this memoir, investigating hate crimes, lynchings, and jailed black people, by passing for white while investigating.
But the stories get quite deep, especially, to me, the negotiations for blacks in the armed services before the integration of the services, just after this was published.
Read this book.
Highest recommendation.
I first heard about the first chapters of this memoir fifteen years ago, on the anniversary of the 1906 Atlanta riots, which young White witnessed personally. He grew up not far from where my maternal grandfather was born; I wish he was alive to discuss this with me.
White gets around, before and during his tenure with the NAACP. There is so much here.
Recently, I read the great two-volume graphic novel series Incognegro, a historical fiction seemingly drawing from the experiences White narrates in the first part of this memoir, investigating hate crimes, lynchings, and jailed black people, by passing for white while investigating.
But the stories get quite deep, especially, to me, the negotiations for blacks in the armed services before the integration of the services, just after this was published.
Read this book.
Highest recommendation.
October 18, 2022
Declan: Who the hell are you?
Walt: You know. You all know exactly who I am. Say my name.
Declan: What? I don't have a damn clue who the hell you are.
Walt: Yeah, you do. I'm the cook. I'm the man who killed Gus Fring.
Declan: Bullshit. Cartel got Fring.
Walt: Are you sure? That's right. Now. Say my name.
Declan: You're Heisenberg.
Walt: You're goddamn right.
Walt: You know. You all know exactly who I am. Say my name.
Declan: What? I don't have a damn clue who the hell you are.
Walt: Yeah, you do. I'm the cook. I'm the man who killed Gus Fring.
Declan: Bullshit. Cartel got Fring.
Walt: Are you sure? That's right. Now. Say my name.
Declan: You're Heisenberg.
Walt: You're goddamn right.
September 26, 2007
Fascinating.
July 2, 2025
I usually don’t read autobiographies. Sometimes autobiographies can have embellishments in them. I heard about this book from the County Historian in the county whereI live. It was hard to find a copy. The book was written in 1948. This is one of those book I could not put down. Walter White was the Secretary of the NAACP. Hie worked not only in the USA, but all over the world for equality among the black and white race. He also worked for the Jewish people. He was instrumental in helping the African Americans who where wrongfully accused of crimes, helped black soldiers that were wrongfully accused, helped investigate lynchings that happened, and was a leader in getting equality for black soldiers and students. One particular event that he was instrumental in, happened in the town I live in , Columbia, TN. Black soldiers that fought in WW2, who fought for freedom and democracy, were treated terribly when they returned home. A riot broke out in Columbia essentially over this issue. Mr. White was on top of it and sent Maurice Weaver, a white attorney from Chattanooga. He was joined by Z. Alexander Looby and other attorneys. They defended 25 of the 27 convicted and they were found not guilty. Thurgood Marshall defended 2 defendants and one was acquitted. This single event sparked such a movement that it grew to the Equal Rights Act of 1964. I find it interesting that some folks want to put symbolism over substance when talking about history. They want to put a particular narrative, spin, etc. to make a particular point, when the point was already made by the historical facts of the event. I would rather stand on facts than symbolism any day. If you can find this book, a must read!
May 9, 2022
jesser we nead to cock the methe
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September 6, 2024Good book, even though its the wrong guy
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews